Mark 12:38-44
A YOUNG LADY GAVE A
PICTURE OF HERSELF TO HER BOYFRIEND. ON THE BACK SHE WROTE, “DEAR
JOHNNIE; I LOVE YOU COMPLETELY AND I AM YOURS FOREVER. WITH THIS
PICTURE I GIVE YOU MY WHOLE HEART. SIGNED, JANIE. PS. IF WE EVER
BREAK UP, I WANT THIS PICTURE BACK.”
UNLIKE THE YOUNG LADY IN
THE STORY, THE FIRST READING AND THE GOSPEL TELL US ABOUT TWO WIDOWS
WHO WERE TOTALLY COMMITTED AND PUT ALL THEIR TRUST IN GOD. THE
FIRST WIDOW WAS REWARDED WITH A MIRACULOUS SOURCE OF FLOUR AND OIL.
WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE SECOND. BUT VERY OFTEN PEOPLE INTERPRET THIS
GOSPEL TO MEAN THAT GOD DOESN'T REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT WE GIVE UNLESS
IT HURTS. WE CALL IT “SACRIFICIAL GIVING”, AND THAT HAS BECOME
ENSHRINED IN OUR VOCABULARY.
I THINK ALL OF US FEEL A
LITTLE GUILTY WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE WOULD PROBABLY NEVER GIVE WHAT
WE HAD TO LIVE ON; NONE OF US ARE WILLING TO PUT COMPLETE TRUST IN
GOD'S PROVIDENCE. DURING THE EARLY DAYS OF THE FRANCISCAN ORDER,
CHURCH AUTHORITIES BECAME ALARMED OVER THE PRESENCE OF WANDERING
FRANCISCAN BEGGARS WHO WERE LITERALLY PUTTING ALL THEIR TRUST IN GOD.
SOME OF THEM WERE DYING OF STARVATION AND OTHERS WERE OBVIOUSLY
APPROACHING THAT POINT, AND ROME ISSUED AN EDICT THAT FRANCISCANS,
LIKE OTHER ORDERS, HAD TO LIVE COMMUNALLY AND SUPPORT THEMSELVES.
AND THEY DO, TO THIS DAY.
BUT THERE'S SOMETHING
ABOUT THIS GOSPEL THAT WE SORT OF GLIDE OVER. AT THE BEGINNING,
JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES TO “BEWARE OF THE SCRIBES”. HE
CONDEMNS THEM FOR THEIR PRIDE, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THEY “DEVOUR THE
HOUSES OF WIDOWS AND AS A PRETEXT, RECITE LENGTHY PRAYERS.”
SCRIBES WERE THE PEOPLE WHO COPIED THE SACRED WRITINGS OF THE JEWS.
BECAUSE THEY KNEW THE SCRIPTURES, USUALLY BETTER THAN THE PHARISEES
OR THE PRIESTS, THEY BECAME UNOFFICIAL TEACHERS, AND WHEN PEOPLE
WANTED TO KNOW HOW JEWISH LAW APPLIED TO A PARTICULAR SITUATION, THEY
WOULD OFTEN GO TO THE SCRIBE. SCRIBES HAD AN ELABORATE SYSTEM OF
CHECKS AND BALANCES TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COPY WAS IDENTICAL TO THE
ORIGINAL; AFTER A DAY'S WORK COPYING, THE TEXT WAS STUDIED BY TWO
OTHER SCRIBES. IF THERE WERE ANY AMBIGUITIES, THE WHOLE EFFORT WAS
DESTROYED AND THE SCRIBE HAD TO START OVER AGAIN. SO SCRIBES WERE
TRUSTED MORE THAN PRIESTS AND PHARISEES AS WELL, AND FUNCTIONED AS
LAWYERS, JUDGES, AND TEACHERS.
WIDOWS IN JESUS' TIME
WERE AT THE VERY LOW END OF THE SOCIAL SPECTRUM. THE HEBREW WORD FOR
WIDOW MEANS “SILENT ONE”. BECAUSE THEY WERE WOMEN, THEY HAD NO
VOICE; AND BECAUSE THEY WERE WIDOWS, THEY HAD NO ONE TO SPEAK FOR
THEM. THEY COULD TURN TO THEIR CHILDREN OR TO RELATIVES FOR HELP,
BUT THERE WERE MANY WHO HAD NO RESOURCES. THE TEMPLE WAS THE SOCIAL
SECURITY SYSTEM. A WIDOW WAS ENTITLED TO RECEIVE ENOUGH TO LIVE ON
FROM THE TEMPLE TREASURY. HOWEVER, SOME WIDOWS WHO HAD NO CHILDREN
OR RELATIVES, MIGHT VERY WELL BE LEFT OWNING A HOME, USUALLY A ONE
ROOMED BUILDING WITH A DIRT FLOOR. THESE WERE THE ONES PREYED UPON
BY SOME OF THE SCRIBES AND OTHER RELIGIOUS LEADERS. YOU CAN IMAGINE
THE ARGUMENT: “THE TEMPLE TREASURY IS MEANT TO SUPPORT THE POOR;
YOU HAVE A HOME, SO YOU AREN'T POOR. YOU NEED TO SELL IT FIRST, AND
DONATE THE MONEY TO THE TEMPLE. THEN YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CHARITY.
AND THINK OF THE ADDED BENEFIT! YOU WILL HAVE OUR PRAYERS FOR THE
REST OF YOUR LIFE!” IF YOU ARE ILLITERATE, ALL ALONE IN THE WORLD,
AND YOU FEEL LIKE GOD REALLY HAS IT IN FOR YOU, THIS SOUNDS LIKE A
PRETTY GOOD DEAL.
SO THAT IS THE CONTEXT IN
WHICH WE READ JESUS' STORY OF THE WIDOW. NOTICE HE DOESN'T PRAISE
HER, HE MERELY OBSERVES. “LOOK AT THAT POOR WIDOW,” HE SAYS.
“SHE IS GIVING AWAY ALL SHE HAS TO LIVE ON BECAUSE OF HOW SHE'S
BEEN BRAINWASHED BY THE SCRIBES.”
A LOT OF US IDENTIFY WITH
THE WIDOW, AND FEEL THAT WE ARE COMING UP SHORT. WE GIVE FROM OUR
ABUNDANCE, NOT FROM OUR NEED. BUT DO WE EVER IDENTIFY WITH THE
SCRIBES? HOW ABOUT THAT GREAT PHRASE, “LET THE BUYER BEWARE!”
WE ARE CONSTANTLY BOMBARDED IN OUR NATION BY LESS-THAN-TRUE
MESSAGES. ORGANIC COFFEE WHICH ISN'T REALLY; HIDDEN FEES WHEN WE
BUY PRACTICALLY ANYTHING; POLITICAL ADDS THAT ACCUSE THE OTHER GUY
OF EVEN MURDER, LET ALONE ALL THE OTHER KINDS OF VENALITY YOU CAN
IMAGINE. OR POLITICAL ADDS THAT MAKE PROMISES NO ONE EXPECTS WILL
BE KEPT, INCLUDING THE CANDIDATE. OR MEASUREMENT OF THE SUCCESS OF
A FAITH FORMATION PROGRAM BY THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLED, RATHER
THAN BY HOW MANY NEW CHURCH-GOING CHURCH-PARTICIPATING YOUNG PEOPLE
ARE TURNED OUT. WE LIE TO EACH OTHER, AND WE LIE TO OURSELVES ALL
THE TIME.
I REMEMBER
MANY YEARS AGO MY FAMILY AND I WERE CAMPING IN THE PENNSYLVANIA
DUTCH COUNTRY. AS WE DROVE DOWN A COUNTRY ROAD, THERE WAS A
YOUNG MAN WHO WAS OBVIOUSLY AMISH, BY HIS DRESS, SELLING FRESH
CORN. I GOT OUT TO BUY SOME. “WAS THAT JUST PICKED THIS
MORNING?” I ASKED. HE LOOKED AT ME FOR A MOMENT. “NO, WE
PICKED IT YESTERDAY IN THE AFTERNOON.” HE REPLIED. HE NEVER
HAD TO SAY THAT; HE COULD HAVE NODDED HIS HEAD TO MY QUESTION OR
PRETENDED HE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND. I WASN'T REALLY THAT INTERESTED
IN THE ANSWER, ANYWAY. BUT HIS WAY OF LIFE WAS TO BE
SCRUPULOUSLY HONEST, EVEN IF IT MEANT THAT HE MIGHT LOSE A SALE.
WE CHRISTIANS ARE LIKE
OTHER PEOPLE; IF THERE IS A BARGAIN, WE TAKE IT; AND IF THERE IS A
CHANCE TO MAKE A LITTLE EXTRA MONEY HONESTLY, WE AREN'T AGAINST THAT.
BUT WE ARE LIKE OTHER PEOPLE IN ANOTHER WAY AS WELL; WE CAN CONVINCE
OURSELVES THAT WE ARE BLAMELESS; WE ALL BELIEVE OUR OWN LIES. THE
SCRIBES WHO DEVOURED THE HOUSES OF THE WIDOWS DID NOT BELIEVE THEY
WERE DOING ANYTHING WRONG, AND IN FACT EVERYTHING THEY DID WAS
PERFECTLY LEGAL. BUT JESUS CALLS HIS PEOPLE TO A HIGHER STANDARD.
AND IT IS OUR DUTY, EVERY NOW AND THEN, TO ASK WHETHER WE, IN ANY
SENSE, ARE “DEVOURING THE HOUSES OF WIDOWS” IN OUR DEALINGS WITH
OTHER PEOPLE? OR ARE WE CONSTANTLY STRIVING TO BE COMPLETELY HONEST
AND OPEN--IN FACT, AS WE DEAL WITH OTHER PEOPLE, ARE WE LOOKING OUT
FOR THEIR WELFARE WITH AS MUCH ATTENTION AS WE LOOK OUT FOR OUR OWN?
GENEROSITY IS A WONDERFUL
THING, AND WE COULDN'T SURVIVE AS A CHURCH WITHOUT THE GENEROSITY OF
OUR PEOPLE. AND THERE ARE MANY PASSAGES IN SCRIPTURE WHICH SUPPORT A
GENEROUS SPIRIT. BUT MAYBE THE STORY OF THE WIDOW WHO GIVES
EVERYTHING SHE HAS TO THE TEMPLE TREASURY IS REALLY A CAUTIONARY TALE
ABOUT PEOPLE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OTHER PEOPLE. AND THEY WILL RECEIVE
A VERY SEVERE CONDEMNATION.
